Month: October 2016

Yep, that’s right. If you’re a passenger, you need to ditch your Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone before you can fly. No checking it, no powering it off. Leave that stuff at home…or perhaps in a fire-proof safe.

Right now Airlines have been mandated by the FAA to require passengers to power off the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. As soon as the aircraft doors shut, Flight Attendants are required to issue a warning to power off the device and anything that can cause the phone to turn back on, such as alarms ect. But the phones have been deemed so dangerous that as of October 15th, they are completely banned by the DOT from being on the aircraft, period!

Thanks for a giant step back, Samsung Galaxy Note 7!

I’ve been flying long enough to remember when all electronic devices needed to be powered down for flight. I can’t tell you how annoying it was to tell passenger after passenger to disconnect their beloved electronics before we took off. And now, in this glorious age, passengers can text via wifi and Netflix and chill until their hearts are content.

But now the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has shown the dangerous side of electronic devices that has always lurked. Lithium Ion Batteries aren’t a joke. One of the many things Flight Attendants learn in their extensive ground school is how to battle battery fires. They are the most lethal of fires to have on board because they continue to explode and reignite even after it has been temporarily extinguished.

So Samsung…I shake an angry fist at ye…Thanks for taking us back into the dark ages and endangers our passengers and our employees.

Last week one of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 replacement phones caught fire on a Southwest aircraft. The plane was on the ground and had to be evacuated after the phone exploded in a passenger’s pocket, filling the plane with smoke. Can you imagine if this happened in the air? And that phone that exploded was a replacement phone!

From the DOT, “The Samsung Galaxy Note7 device is considered a forbidden hazardous material under the Federal Hazardous Material Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-185), which forbid airline passengers or crew from traveling with lithium cells or batteries or portable electronic devices that are likely to generate a dangerous evolution of heat. PHMSA has issued a special permit to Samsung to facilitate commercial shipment of the recalled devices by ground transportation.”

Samsung is trying to do damage control, but don’t think your phone is safe to bring on even if its a replacement. Those are exploding too. If you have any Samsung Galaxy Note 7 do NOT travel with it.

Are you a proud owner of the exploding phone and still want to try to smuggle it onto the plane? Think again.

Here’s what’ll happen.

“Any person failing to compel with the Emergency Order is subject to civil penalties up to $179,933 for each violation of the Hazardous Materials Regulations. A person violating this Order may also be subject to criminal prosecution, which may result in fines under title 18, imprisonment of up to ten years, or both”

This huge fine is why passengers need to be educated when they travel. I know sometimes it’s easy to miss the news when life gets busy, but please, if you own a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, be safe and get rid of it. And definitely don’t travel with it!

If you’re traveling the next week and you see a flight attendant eyeballing your phone, please cut them some slack, they’re just trying to keep everyone safe.

Everyone I know travels with their cell phone, relies on it, lives for it. I know that personally, I use mine for pictures, music, and the beloved Whatsapp while traveling international. Think you could travel without your phone?

Hopefully this huge safety meltdown with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 doesn’t cause airlines to ban the use of phones completely.

What do you think? Will the airlines move on without a hitch like the exploding phones never happened?

In my first month as a blogger, I seeing traffic and even got accepted by Google AdSense. I take every small win I can and I want to share the keys to success that I’ve discovered!

My blog is barely a month old and yet I manage to get around 100 views a day and my traffic is steadily increasing.

But how am I getting this traffic to my blog?

Does it take hours of tedious work?

Nope.

If you look through many of my posts, I include a Pinterest image for others to re-pin. This makes it even easier for me to one-click my Tailwind icon later and schedule posts as well because my favorite, pinnable images are already embedded in the post.

Check out these screenshots from my recent traffic and notice where almost all of it comes from…Pinterest!

These numbers aren’t crazy by any means, but it’s only my second month blogging, so just to have any views at all is exciting!

61 views came from Pinterest versus only 9 from facebook and only 4 from Twitter

This day I had 114 views from Pinterest and only 5 from Facebook and 3 from Twitter!

So why is Pinterest working so well for me?

Pinterest is very passive compared to all the effort facebook takes. Pinterest continues to circulate your images like a visual search engine, even when you are not online. When others pin or like the image, Pinterest increases it’s circulation.

My pin, found here, has 86 repins at the time of this post. Because of that, Pinterest is continuing to recirculate the image. People that search for related tags, like how to pack for air travel, or something similar, will find my image. They can either pin it for later, or they can also click through to my website.

Tailwind is used to pre-schedule posts. It’s as easy as clicking a few buttons and throughout the day, Tailwind will post Pins on your behalf. Tailwind even knows when the best time to post a pin is! If that wasn’t enough, you can also see how well your boards are performing.

Do you need more about the basics of Pinterest? Check out my post on how to create a pinnable image that drives traffic directly to your website.

Happy Pinning!

XOXO

The Luv Aviatrix

Want to pin this for later? (See what I did there?) Pin this image and make Pinterest your bestie too!

Happy Fall! It’s October 1st and you know what that means??? Halloween is only 31 days away! Halloween is my favorite Holiday besides Christmas and you better believe I get decked out, whether I’m on the ground, or in the air!

I haven’t flown on Halloween in a few years, so I’m going to share pictures from my first Halloween as a flight attendant, back when I was flying to Horizon Airlines. My bestie and I thought we looked grand in our costumes. Our Canadian passengers seemed less enthusiastic about our Holiday spirit, eyeing us dubiously as we offered them drinks…tee-hee. I remember walking through the terminal at Sea Tac though, ordering a mocha from Dilettante and everyone got a kick out of my polka dot tights!

Anyone thirsty?

My Bestie and I rockin’ our polka dot tights in front of the Q400

To kick-start the Fall season and count down to Halloween, I’m going to share some Flight Attendant Halloween Spirit! Gotta love how creative my coworkers are!

These Houston based Southwest Flight Attendants

are decked out from head to toe and ready to show their passengers a fun flight!

These Medford Based Horizon Airlines Flight Attendants are representing their Halloween spirit and showing that regional airlines have the most fun!

This Las Vegas based Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant

opts for cute instead of scary for her Halloween in the sky!

More festive Southwest Airlines flight attendants, this time Oakland based

Ground Crew sharing their Halloween spirit with a Medford based Flight Attendant

An American Airlines Flight Attendant is ready to fly!

This Orlando Based Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant is fifty shades of fun!

If This Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant told me to

fasten my seat belt, I would not hesitate!

Are you flying anywhere this Halloween? Flying is magical, so it’s only fitting that as a flight attendant, we take this holiday to play it up a little bit. I don’t have my schedule yet to know if I’ll be flying on Halloween this year, but if I am, you better believe I’ll be decked out in Halloween spirit!

So, which of these Halloween Costumes show the most Flight Attendant Holiday Spirit? If I fly again this Halloween, what should I dress up as for my passengers?

Happy Fall Flying!

XOXO

Jaye Shields

P.S. Although you see mostly Southwest Flight Attendants here, I promise I approached Delta, Alaska and American flight attendants as well. Some airlines have stricter holiday policies so it doesn’t encourage as much Holiday flair.

About Author

The Luv Aviatrix

Flight Attendant by day, Published romance writer by night, the Aviatrix...that's me! My super powers include saving lives, making oversize carry-on bags disappear in the blink of an eye and creating awe-inspiring sculptures out of pretzel bags.